Semi-automatic small-arm.



"grill-AUTOMATIC SMALL ARM. 'APPLICATION FILED APB.22,1910.

Patented Nov.1,19-o'.

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N. PIEPER.- l snm-AUTOMATIG SMALL um. APPLIOATIOI FILED AP'R. 22, 1.910.

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v i w N PIEPER. SEMI-AUTOHA'IIG SHALL ABH. Arrmolurolfrlnnn An. an, mo.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910,

'Ill/111111111; 'r lill/1, '/llIllllIlIl/ll NICOLAS PIEPER, 0F LIFEGE, BELGIUM.

Specieation of Letters Patent..

snm-an'ronari ASMALL-Aim.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910'.

` Application lied April 28, 1910. Serial No. v5157,090

trigger in elevation and pllan. ,14visa To all whom 'it may concern! Be it known that I, NICOLAS PIEPER, subet of the Kingl of Belgium, residing at i Bel iu'm, ave invented certain new an usefu Improvements in Semi-Automat-ic Small-Arms; and I do hereby declare the following' to be a full, clear, and exact description of' the invention, such as lwill enable others skilled inthe art to which it ap yrtains to make and use the same.

is invention ha's'referenoe to semi-auto matic small arms wherein the cartridges are introduced `by hand, shot by shot, and in which thebreech boi;4 remains open after each discharge owing to the breech-bolt .or striker being automatically engaged andretained by the sear of the firing mechanism; the rearward or cooking movement of the said striker being effected automatically by The arm is also constructed so' that, at the moment of the discharge of a the recoil.

cartridge, the breech bolt is latched or re.- tained in the breech-closing,position by a simple-spring device which is automatically released afterthe actual'discharge, and so also that the resistance which is opposed by the said. latch device to the opening of the -breech by the' rearward movement of the said bolt may be regulated according to the power of the cartri ges employed;

The accompanying drawings show improved firearms which are constructed according to the present invention and are distinguished by their extreme sim licity.v

Figure 1 shows an elevation of t e righthand side o'f the action of one formofthe Fig." 2 is v hand-loaded -rec'oilycocked rifle. a longitudinal section upon the dotted lint A-l-A Fig. the breech beingclosed-b the bolt. Fi 3 1s a transverse section on B Fig.2. ig. 4 is a section longitudinally on C'-C Fi 3. Fig. 5 shows, in plan'and ele .vation, t e part of the mechanism. which* Servesto eileot the locking of the bolt With'in the breech at the vmoment of discharge. Fig.V 6 isa view similar to Fig. 4 of a modified -construction of the arm. Fig -7 shows a lan, section and elevation of the modlied ormfgof the' device. represented in Fig.` 5,

and Fig. 8 is an end view thereof. Fig. 9

isaseparate view of the .v bolt, in elevation and Fig. 10 is a plan of the same. f Fig. 11 1s a lsection-similar to Fig. 2 of a further modified oonstruction.- Fig. 12 1S a'sectionshowin'gfthe breech open, or with the parts inl the position for loading. Fig. 13 shows the The barrel is fixed into theyforwar en the striker-bolt is held in its rearward tion. A. lever h (Fig. 5) .provided with a s -t 'e' sal plan of the underside of t ebolt.I g. 15 is 'a longitudinal section of the said bolt, while Fi 16 is a crosstglsection thereof on D-D. escribing first Ithe construction .shown in Figs. 1 to 5: the arm comprises. a breechbox a which isv preferably c lindrical, inclosing "a cylindrical fstriker olt b of corresponding form. Thisy striker-bolt is bored to provide a chamberfor the striker spring c whose rear end has its bearing against screw plu box a. l his 'plugcarries a rod c which serves'as a gulde for the striker s rin c. of the breech bo'x which is 'formed with an aperture g wherethrough the cartridges can be inserted by hand into the said box' when osivprojection or head k 1s mounted in a groove in the striker bolt in such a manner-that it canrock or pivot about an axis z', disposed in the said oove near the forward end of the striker olt. This-lever constitutes the bolt-latching device and a spring is arranged to act thereon so as to tend, constantly to force thel rearward end thereof outwardly when the bolt is in its extreme forward. or breech-closing position and whereb the inclined extremity thereof is oppose to the inclined end of a groove y, 'formed in the exterior walls of the breechbox. The fgroove corresponds in width to the part o the lever which engages therewith, so that in addition to serving as a bolt-latch, the arrangement acts as a guide for the said bolt and revents it rotatin Within the breech-box.. en the breech o the arm is closed by the striker-bolt being in its forward position, the rearward beveled `extremity of the lever h is maintainedby the latchspring, in opposition to the correndin incline on the breech-box, and thus ward c lindrical part of t e ,breech-box( The resistance which is-opposed b the latch to the rearward motion of the` bolt is spring-maintained in the d that constitutes the end of the lt "is, de-l pendent upon the" angles of .the opposed I bevels on the latch lever and breech-box and throng by varying the said angles, any desired resistance can be obtained, according to the power of the cartridges to be used in the articular arin. The cooking of the striker- Eolt by hand may be etfectedvby grasping thehead k of the latehing lever and actuating the same so that the said lever is rocked about its pivot-'pin and its rearward end is disengaged from the walls of the breech-box, when Athe only resistance that has to be overcome in moving the bolt rearward is that which is ofered by the strikerspringe. .The underside of the striker-bolt isxformed, Vvnear the forward end, with' a notch or bent m with which the s ring sear constantly1 pressed in the upward direction.

This arm carries, at its frontend, a small rockin piece s that 'constitutes a awl the medium of which the trigger acts upon'the sear fn. .A spring t acts on the pawl and maintains the same in its normal i i position in which its nose engages with the shoulder at the back of the Sear n so as to provide for the disengag ementv of the 'latter on the trigger being pulled. The searconiprises a 'spring whose forward extremity 1s v-tix'ed to the breech-box, and the part n, on

which the trigger pawl acts, extends through a correspfxfidis: opening inthe underside of the said bex. f

The arin isnot provided with anextrac tor or` anv ejector, since the cartridge shells .are always thrown outof the -barrel chainbeii'by the recoil, and the aperture g renders the saidchamber fully accessible so,that a shell can always be easily withdrawn 'by hand if'itis not properly ejected by the recoil.-

W'hen. the-striker-bolt is traversed rearwardly by the recoil, theshock thereby produced is-received partly by the plug d in the end of ythe Ibreech box, andshoulderfu nthe lever h, stri ing a ainst tlie'end of the groove ,Z'in the sai 'box.

Thus, after a cartridge has ,been insertedby hand into the barrel chamber, and the trig- 'Ofer has been pulled. the sean-fn, is disengaged rom'th'e bent m' of the strikerbolt andthe lutter is. projected forwardly by the striker springe. The. point 'z' .at the front of the striker-bolt then strikes the cap of the-car tridge which is thereb discharged and by the result-ing recoil, t e resistance of the loutwu rd and artly by a spring-actuated latch-lever is overcome, the

bol( is driven back into the cocked positionv in which it is retained after each shot by the spring-engaged scar) and the empty shell is ejected as has already been described. position and the breech thereby kept closed during firing by the lever h wh' ch serves as a breech latch, and to provide. for the firing, in one and the saine 'arnr` of cartridges of different strengths and `to 'give an appropi'iate locking of the breech in each case, it suffices to furnish the lever li with a regulating screw or equivalent device -which acts upon the spring that tends to move said arm rovides for its tension being increased or cecreased, and this yalteration vin the spring tension produces a correspond` ing alteration in the resistance which is opposed by the bolt-hatching lever i to the opening movement since as the tension of the spring is increased or decreased, so its beveled end can disengage more oi' less freely from the inclined end of the groove in the breech box. Figs. G to l0 represent one such arrangei'nent for altering the spring resistaiice of the latch. In this arrangement, as in the construct-ion shown in Figs. l to 5, the

Astriker is formed with a groove y whose f orward end is furnished with 'a transverse pivot pin z', which is .engaged by the hooked part -uof the bolt-latching lever h. A screw '0. whose head is partiallycontained in the buttonlc of thesaid lever, is arranged in front of the pin 'a' and serve-s to keep the lever in engagement with the said pin (see Fig. 6). As is shown in Fig. 7 the head of the screw is made to project beyond the sides ofthelever-button so that it can be readilyrotated in either direction by the thumb and finger. The'latch-spring a; which actliates the lever la. is locatedin the button end of rThe bolt is retained in its forward the latter and one of its extremities bears against thebottom of the groove 3/ in the striker-bolt while the other extremity has its abutment against the head of the sere-w. 'With this arrangement, by raising or lo'wering the screw more or less, the tension' of it is siifiicient to remove the screw plug which closes the"rea;r of the breech-box, and to withdraw 'the regulatin screw o to aV sufficient extent to admito the disengagement of the hooked part of thelatch lever from its pivot z'- and the consequent detachment of the said lever. The striker-bolt can then be withdrawn through the open rear'end of the made breech-box. The parts can be reassembled by the inversion of the throw the' striker-bolt rearwardly through.

the requisite distance for enabling the spring Sear to engage with the bent in the underside of the said bolt, and thus the boltis returned to the closed position and instead of tlieempty shell being ejected, 4it is pushed back into the barrel chamber.v It then becomes iiecessaryto withdraw and cock the striker-bolt by hand and to have recourse to a tool or instrument for removing the shell from the chamber. To avoid vthisincon- ".'enience and to obviate the risk of the em ty shell being returned to the breeclrcham er by the inadvertent. closing of the strikerbolt, the construction shown in Figs. 11 to 16 may be used, in which the said striker-bolt is 'formed withv a vplurality of notches or bents 1, 2, 3, 4, arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal axis and either one or other of which may be engaged by the sear ln, accordin to the-extent of the recoil movement I the striker-bolt after a discharge. From t is-arrangement it results thatthe breech always remains open (to a greater or 'less extent)4v after each discharge,` lwhich renders italvvays an easy matter for the s ent shells to'be removed since the bolt is a ways caught and retained at` a siitlicient distancefrom the face of t-lie' breech-cham- In t ev arm.l shown in Fi v. 11 to 16, an

arrangement is provided'w ereby after the striker-bolt has been released, tlie'sear 1i. is

momentarily disconnectedfroni the trigger- 71, so that the latter 'will iiotaffect ythe ac tion of the Sear in engaging with the said bolt during its'recoil. This arrangement is operated 4by the striker-bolt during its for'- ward or firing`movement, and it consists of a small spring-actuated slide or peg 8,.\vhich -is mounted in'the front of the trig er and' serves to connect the latter with te scar. This slide is also" enaged by the lower arm of a small lever a, iiich is pivoted` above it in the front part off the trigger,- and whose upper arm engages in a groove cut longitudinallv'iii the undersideof the striker-bolt and VVit-h this arrangement, the spring of the small slide a normally keeps the latter engaged withthe senr and makes the comico-- perations. The Working' sean from the trigger,

having an inclined rearward end.

its forward or firing movement, the incline at t-he rear end of the groove in the said ,bolt strikes against the arm of the lever a which is thereby rocked and m de to retract the slide s in opposition` to itz spring (see Fig. 11).1l This effects the isconnection of -the y b it-.on the other hand, when the recoiling movement of the strikerbolt commences, the restraint upon the lever a'- is removed and/the slide s can be rengaged by its. spring with the Sear immediately the finger pressure on the trigger is relieved, while the Sear is free toengage a utoi-naticallyl with one or other of the series of bents 1, 2, 3, 4 of the bolt (as shown in Fig. 12)- either prior to or after the releasel `of the trigger.

"details of construction without departing from the invention, and that the arrange the combination i of a.

"tia-l recoil movement of the bolt,jand means -for varying the resistance to recoil offered by said device.

2. In av fire arm. the combination' ofV a bod a barrel', a striker bolt, a spring acting to orce the bolt toward the barrel. means for retainin the bolt-in its rearward position, and a justable means adapted to retard the initial recoil movement of the bolt.

3. In a. lire arm. the combination of a body, abarrel, a striker bolt, a spring acting to force the bolt towardthe barrel. ineiiis for retaining the bolt. in it-s rearward posin tion, a., spring' actuated device adapted to Vcheck the initial recoil movement of the bolt.

and means for varying the resistance to the recoil offered by said device.

4. In a .fire arm. the combination of a body, a barrel, a striker bolt, a spring acting to force the bolt toivard the barrel, means for reta-inin d the bolt in its rearward position, and a ever fulcrunied on the bolt. and adapted to engage theA body to check the initial recoil movement of the bolt, said lever having a lateral projection by means of which it may be moved to inoperative po sition.

5. In a fire arm. the combination of ahody, a barrel. a' striker bolt, a spring acting to force said boltV toward the barrel, incaiis for retaining the bolt in a rearward position, and :i yielding stop device extending latex body,

ally-from the bolt and adapted .to coperate with the body to retard the initial recoil movement of the bolt and to prevent rotation thereof. l

6. In a. fire arm, the combination of a 'a barrel, a striker bolt,'a. s ring acting to force the bolt toward. t e barrel, means for retaining the bolt in a rearward position, aspring pressed'lever cooperating with the bolt and body to initially check recoil movement of the bolt, and means for val-ving the resistance to recoil oii'ered 'by said lever. f

7. In 'a lire arm, the combination of. a bod f, a barrel, a striker bolt,'a spring acting lo ace the bolt tow-ard the barrel, means for retaining the bolt in a. rearward position, i

l' a lever interposed between 'the bolt and body, a spring acting to 'canse said lever to initially vcheck recoil of the bolt, and means on the lever for varying the tension of the 'last said spring.

8. In a Ilire arm, the combination of 'a' bodv, a barrel, a striker bolt, a spring acting to force the bolt toward the barrel, means for retaining the bolt in a rearward position, a yielding stop device interposed between the bolt and body to initially check the recoil movement of the bolt, and an 'adjust-ing screw carried by saidfdevice and adapted to var v'the resistance offered to recoil by said device. A

9. In afire arm, the combination of a bodv. a barrel, a striker bolt, a spring acting to force the'-=bolt towardV thebarrel, means for retaining theA bolt in a rearward position, a. lever interposed between the. bolt and bodv, a spring acting tocause said lever "to initially check recoil of the bolt, and an ad-- justing screw adapted toassist in securing the lever in place and to vary the tensionI of the spring'acting on the lever.

10. In n fire arm, the combination of a i body. a barrel, a striker bolt, a spring acting to force the bolt toward the barrel, means for retaining the bolt in al rearward position, a lever detachably fulcrumed on the bolt, a.. spring acting to hold one end of the lever 'in alinement with an abutment on the body, and 4means forvarying the tension of said spring. v

11. In av ire arm, the combination lof a body, a barrel, a .springimpelled strikin bolt, a sear adapted to rest-rain movement o the boltby the sprinr, a'` trigger having a spring pressed pm a apted` to engage the sear, and a lever fulcrumedxon the trigger and.' adapted to be actuated by the bolt to. move said pin to inoperative position.

12. Ina fire arm, the combination of a body,a barrel; a spring impelled strikin bolt, a'sear adapted to restrain movement o the bolt by the spring, byengagement therewith at either 4of a plurality ofl points, a

'trigger adapted to' adjust the sear to disenage it from the bolt, and means actuated y the bolt 'for break-ing the connegtion. be tween the Sear and trig er,- -wherebythe sea-r may rengage the bolt efore the trigger returns to its normal position. i

13. In a fire arm, the combination ofa body,` a barrel, a spring impelled strikin bolt, n. sea-radapted to restrain movement o.

the bolt by 'the`spring, a trigger, a member adjustably mounted on the trigger and adapted t'normally engage the Sear, and a lever fulcrumed on the trigger and adapted to be actuated by the bolt to move adjustable-member out ofengagement with the V:so

sear.

14. In a fire arm, the combination of a body, a barrel,- a spring impelled strikin bolt, a sear' adapted to restrain movement o thebolt .bythe spring, a trigger, a spring pressed pin movable to and from a osition in front of the 'trigger-and adapte in its forward position to engage the Sear, and' 'means adapted to be actuated by the bolt to movesaid pin -rearwardly to break the connection between .the tri er' and thesear.

...In testimom7 Whereo aix my signature in presence o. two witnesses,

.NICOLAS PIEPER. Witnesses; v

GEORGE E. COYLE, E. Kiason. 

